Tapping up is routine, admits RPA boos Damian Hopley

Players’ boss Damian Hopley insists the tapping-up of Premiership stars is rife and describes the current six-month rule relating to approaches as “a nonsense”.
Premiership clubs, officially at least, are unable to approach players from rival clubs until January 1, but intense speculation surrounding moves for Leicester‘s Manu Tuilagi by Worcester, Wasps and Bristol suggests that rule is being ignored.
Clubs routinely deny targeting rival players, but exasperated RPA chief executive Hopley told The Rugby Paper: “Tell me one club that isn’t tapping-up players outside the six-month period and I’ll seriously question that.
“It’s been raised several times at Premiership board level and I can tell you there are people being tapped-up right now for the 2017-18 season.
“That six-month rule is a nonsense, and we’ve asked for it to be struck from the regulations because we don’t think it’s workable in what we see as the emergence of a maturing transfer market in the professional game.”
With Tuilagi drawing offers of up to £750,000-per-annum and the salary cap increasing dramatically, Hopley predicts English rugby will see its first ‘£1m’ player by 2020.
He said: “Salary levels are going up and I’ve no doubt that within four years we’re going to see our first £1m player in England. With the increased salary cap, it’s about making smart investments and achieving value for money while keeping everybody happy.”
With the RPA last week agreeing a new £7m, five-year deal with the RFU and Premiership Rugby to continue its welfare, personal development and education programmes, Hopley is now targeting changes to the season structure.
“It’s a mess that we need to address,” he explained.
“We have to recognise the commercial strength of the Six Nations and domestic competitions, but we must tweak our season and if we finished at the end of June instead of May, you’d get decent uniformity with the Southern Hemisphere.
“The Test tour schedule after 2019 is up for grabs and you just hope there’s a real joined-up approach rather than everything being piecemeal. We also need to make sure tier-two nations get the quality of rugby they deserve.”
NEALE HARVEY